Skiing pole



May 13, 1952 slBNER 2,596,733

SKIING POLE Filed May 28, 1948 INVENTOR.

Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED rss PATENT QFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to skiing poles, and more particularly toskiing poles possessing improved characteristics of better balance,uniform flexibility and substantially longer useful life.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a skiing poleconstructed in such manner as to afford protection to the skier frombeing hurt or injured by the. pointed prong located at the end of theski pole. The skiing pole, furthermore, is designed in such a manner asto substantially protect and eliminate danger to other skiers if theuser of this skiing pole should fall while skiing.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a skiing poleconstructed in such manner as to afford protection from the pointed endof the prong while carrying the skiing pole, when not skiing.

Other and further objects residing in the details of construction ofthis skiing pole will be apparent from the following specification andclaim. In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the embodiment ofthe invention,

Fig. l is a side elevationalview of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view, substantially in section;

Fig. 3 is a rear inverse cross section along the line 33, Fig. 2,

It is a requirement that skiing poles be light in weight and that saidpoles possess a certain degree of flexibility or transverse resiliencein order to be suitable for use. The poles have commonly beenconstructed with bamboo shafts, Wood, metal rings interrelated to wood,and from partial wood and metal constructions. Poles constructed in thismanner, while possessing a slight degree of flexibility, yet do notpossess flexibility to the extent to which it is desired, nor can thesepoles be bent uniformly, as the interlocking of the steel and woodmembers, or the existing joint of the knuckles or rings at the naturalbent of the bamboo will burst upon exertion or stress. been foundsuitable, because the pole is required to have a certain amount Ofstrength, and to obtain this strength in steel the weight of the polewould have to be increased to an extent where the pole would beunsuitable for use beof heaviness and lack of resilience.

A feature of the present invention resides in employing a cylindricalaluminum tube in order to form the pole. The cylindrical aluminum tubewill provide the necessary required strength without adding an undueamount of weight to the Steel or other metals have not pole.Furthermore, the use of the uniform cylindrical aluminum tube provides apole of controlled and uniform resilience.

Referring now to the drawings, I designates the shaft comprised of thecylindrical aluminum tube. On the lower cylindrical portion thereof, acollar 6 is attached. At the end of the shaft, there is an open-endchamber 3 adapted to hold and contain the retractable sharp ski prong 4.The collar 6 serves as a connecting member for the customarysnow-contact ring 5.

At the top end of the shaft is located the hand strap 1 with theadjustable buckle 8, and also the flexible leather cover 9 for coveringthe movable handle arrangement III. The movable handle arrangement I0consists of hinge-levers I2 and IZx, to which is pivoted an intermediatepressure-bar. The hinge-lever l 2 is formed with a finger which projectsinwardly of the shaft through a slot therein. A spring I3 engages thetop I4 of a rod I5, which rod I5 terminates in the retractable sharp skiprong 4. The finger of hinge lever I2 abuts the top of rod I5. When thehandle member I 0 is moved in an upward vertical direction by means ofpressure exerted by the hand of the skier, the prong 4 is extend throughthe pole opening 3. By releasing the manual pressure upon the handlemember ID, the spring I3 will automatically retract the rod I5 thusretracting the prong 4.

The skiing pole thus formed, as above described, is capable ofsustaining a bending load, when applied, of up to six hundred pounds,which is a sufiicient load capacity for all ordinary purposes. Thus, thetubular shaft is capable of sustaining a bending load substantially inexcess I of that ordinarily sustained by bamboo poles. The retractableprong of the ski pole affords protection from injury to the skierbecause it requires projection by positive hand action of the skier andis automatically retracted when such action is released.

The aluminum tubing employed in the construction of the shaft gives theskier a better balance while skiing and the safety features set forthare of importance in eliminating the large number of accidents commonlycaused by means of the ski prong. In actual use, ski poles constructedin accordance with this invention have proved to be superior to poles ofthe present art, both in operation and desirability.

Having set forth my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is as follows:

A ski pole comprising in combination a tubular shaft, a rod. having apoint slidably mounted within said tubular shaft, a spring normallyretracting said rod, with the point held inwardly of the shaft, levermeans engaging'the upper end of the rod and operable in opposition tosaid spring, a hollow handle enclosing said lever means, said handlehaving a flexible wall portion adjacent said lever means and movablelaterally inwardly so as to engage and actuate the latter in responsetomanuallgripping pressure applied 10 Number" to the handle member.

MARVIN SIBNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,204,469 Birkhofer June 11, 1940FOREIGN PATENTS Country; Date 153,861.: Austria July 25, 1938 181,839Switzerland Mar. 16, 1936 334,915 Germany Mar. 22, 1921

